finding tears streaming down maria josefina's face. chavez, she told me, provided her with everything, her home, a pension to live on. and as his body floated by -- absolutely intense. everybody wants to get close to the body of the man they still revere. and they chanted. >> chavez! chavez! >> reporter: and look closely. protected by those paratroopers, the man in the yellow track suit. he's nicolas maduro. chavez's hand-picked successor. they tell me they trust maduro as much as they did chavez. but maduro's first act as interim president was accusing america of infecting chavez, leading to his death. a charge echoed by none other than iran's ahmadinejad, who today said his friend chavez died of a "suspicious illness." the state department called that charge absurd. venezuela sits atop one of the world's biggest oil reserves. gas here costs just 2 cents a gallon. the country could pump more, which might make american gas cheaper, too. the question here, will the country elect a new leader to make that happen? matt gutman, abc news, c